BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

froberts73 One critic said he is not a Frank Capra fan. He probably dislikes July 4, Christmas and Easter. This may not be a typical Capra offering but one thing it has in common with his other works is - quality.From top to bottom,"The Miracle Woman" is thoroughly engrossing. And, it is fascinating to realize that this oldie is up-to-date - phony evangelists with plants in the audience, working their 'fans' into a frenzy, getting as rich as Midas, etc., etc. Unfortunately, some things never change.One thing unchanged over the years is Stanwyck. Whether doing comedy or involved in drama she puts most other actresses of yesterday and today in the shade.Her every speech, movement, expression is always right on the mark,and she is at her best as a manipulated evangelist who manipulates others.She melts when she meets a blind aviator, a role nicely played by David Manners, but Sam Hardy is the scene stealer as the con man who sets her up for the kill. Chomping his cigar and scowling at the world he is, as was meant to be, pretty damned hateful.Also, kudos to character actress Beryl Mercer as Manners' landlady/friend.The opening scene, wherein Stanwyck gives the parishioners hell - literally - sets the pace with vigor, a pace that never lets up."The Miracle Woman" is a must-see for both content, performances, and direction.

www-Gorilla In the scene of the fire ladder-truck racing to the scene, the city streets were actually filmed at night.Clearly seen on the left side of the street, the fire truck passes: "The Owl Drug Co." That company had a related past of selling highly suspect "cures" in the 1920-30's when this film was made.Also newspaper articles at the time noted that they had a hand in controlling the prices of drugs sold. The view of the building, brightly lit up at night, does not seem to be completely accidental. Other city streets could have been used.I wonder if the sight was intentionally included by the director/cameraman as a comment relating to "Sister's" "cures". You can read about the The Owl Drug Co. by searching for it on the Internet.

Ursula 2.7T Thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies! I see the best movies on this channel. The Miracle Woman was amazing, and far better than 99% of our modern movies!Stanwyck is awesome as a disillusioned preacher's daughter who falls prey to a con-man who sets up a phony church with "Sister Fallon" (Stanwyck) as the main preacher. At first Stanwyck is OK with this set-up, as she's bitter towards the hypocritical church-goers at her father's church where he died. But, her conscious eventually gets to her and she wants to get out of the racket. Her boss, a bad guy well-played by Sam Hardy, threatens her with jail if she tries to leave -- you see, he's managed to put everything in her name, so at the very least she could go to jail for fraud and perhaps even murder (the boss murdered the accountant but has "evidence" that links Stanwyck to it).Along the way, Stanwyck has fallen in love with David Manners, who plays a blind ex-aviator. Her love for him was quite touching and believable, however I found Manners's character rather one-dimensional and not very compelling. Nonetheless, that did not detract from the story and I was rooting for Stanwyck and Manners to end up together (such was the power of Stanwyck's performance).One final note, not really a spoiler but more of an interesting trivia point: In one scene, the boss issued a thinly veiled threat to Stanwyck's chauffeur and asked the chauffeur if he got his drift. The chauffeur said yes, then walked out of the office and closed the door. Then, from behind the closed door, we see what the chauffeur really thinks of the boss: the chauffeur FLIPPED OFF the boss and said "and your black derby too" (the boss was wearing a black derby). I nearly fell out of my chair and had to rewind the Tivo a few times to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me. I don't think I've ever seen someone flip someone off (this was a full-on middle finger flip-off) in a movie prior to say the 1970s or maybe even the 1980s. Then I remembered this was a 1931 movie -- 3 years before the Production Code went into full-force effect. It was just a tiny moment in this fantastic movie, but I loved the heck out of it! By the way, I'm normally not a Frank Capra fan, but I found this to be a very good movie of his. Towards the end of the movie it appears that it will end quite tragically, and being that this was 1931 I was afraid it might. (Happy endings are a trademark of the post-Code days, not the pre-Code days.) A tiny part of me was rooting for Frank Capra to pull off one of his usual post-Code feel-good endings ... you'll have to watch the movie to see how it ended.I easily give this a 9/10!

tim-818 My favorite early film. Capra has proved to me to be even more groundbreaking than Welles. Stanwyck is great, as is the rest of the cast. I should not spoil the plot with a review. It's not a long or in depth movie, but is simple and brilliant in it's own ways. Before the clichés of the greedy villains were die cast, this movie's star is a gray character with faults and worthiness of her own. Before it was acceptable to be intelligent, this movie redefined the entire film world quietly, and is hardly known by todays movie goers. TCM shows this movie sometimes- look for it. If you don't get TCM, rent it, you can't go wrong.